Today's words · 🏢 Neighbours & house rules
Noise, stairwells and house rules: 10 words for living with German neighbours
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The secret to getting on with German neighbours isn't a friendly hello — it's knowing when to be quiet.
You've just moved in. On Sunday morning you pick up a drill to put up a shelf, and suddenly you can feel someone glaring. A few days later the older lady next door stops you on the stairs and explains something at length. You catch about half of it.
Today's ten words are the ones you need when you share a building in Germany. You'll be able to talk about noise, ask someone to keep it down, call the caretaker and make a complaint. 🏠
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Nachbar
[NAKH-bar]neighbour(Pl. die Nachbarn (f: die Nachbarin))
📌 Unser Nachbar ist sehr hilfsbereit.
→ Our neighbour is very helpful.
💡 nah (near) + someone who lives there = a near-dweller 🏘️ Same root as English neighbour.
⚠ It takes -n in other cases: den Nachbarn, dem Nachbarn.
der Lärm
[lairm]noise((no plural))
📌 Der Lärm von oben stört mich.
→ The noise from upstairs bothers me.
💡 Same root as alarm 🔊 Lärm is noise that rings in your ears.
⚠ No plural: Der Lärm stört mich.
laut
[lowt]loud, noisy(laut – lauter – am lautesten)
📌 Die Musik ist zu laut.
→ The music is too loud.
💡 Practically twins with English loud 📢 Die Musik ist zu laut!
Bonus As a preposition laut means ‘according to’: laut Hausordnung
leise
[LYE-zuh]quiet, soft (sound)(leise – leiser – am leisesten)
📌 Bitte sei nach 22 Uhr leise.
→ Please be quiet after 10 pm.
💡 Whisper it: ‘lye-zuh’ 🤫 It's the opposite of laut.
Bonus Kannst du bitte leiser sein? = Could you be a bit quieter?
die Ruhezeit
[ROO-uh-tsite]quiet hours(Pl. die Ruhezeiten)
📌 Am Sonntag gilt den ganzen Tag Ruhezeit.
→ On Sundays quiet hours apply all day.
💡 Ruhe (rest) + Zeit (time) = time for everyone to rest 🌙 Put the drill down!
Bonus Night-time quiet is die Nachtruhe
die Hausordnung
[HOWSS-ort-noong]house rules (for tenants)(Pl. die Hausordnungen)
📌 Laut Hausordnung ist ab 22 Uhr Ruhe.
→ According to the house rules, quiet time starts at 10 p.m.
💡 Haus (house) + Ordnung (order) = your building's rulebook 📋 -ung, so it's die.
Bonus You'll often find it on the stairwell noticeboard or with your rental contract.
das Treppenhaus
[TREP-en-howss]stairwell, staircase(Pl. die Treppenhäuser · Austrian: das Stiegenhaus)
📌 Ich habe die Nachbarin im Treppenhaus getroffen.
→ I met my neighbour in the stairwell.
💡 Treppe (stairs) + Haus (house) = stairwell 🪜 The number one place to bump into neighbours.
Bonus The lift is der Aufzug
der Hausmeister
[HOWSS-my-ster]caretaker, janitor(Pl. die Hausmeister · Swiss: der Abwart (f: die Abwartin))
📌 Ruf den Hausmeister an, die Heizung ist kaputt.
→ Call the caretaker, the heating is broken.
💡 Haus + Meister (master) = master of the house 🔧 Call them when something breaks.
Bonus In Switzerland: der Abwart
sich beschweren
[zikh buh-SHVAIR-en]to complain(beschwert sich – hat sich beschwert)
📌 Der Gast beschwert sich über das kalte Essen.
→ The guest complains about the cold food.
💡 schwer (heavy) is inside 😤 Something weighs on you, so you complain.
⚠ über + accusative for the problem, bei + dative for the person: sich beim Hausmeister über den Lärm beschweren.
klingeln
[KLING-eln]to ring (the doorbell)(klingelt – hat geklingelt)
📌 Es hat geklingelt. Machst du auf?
→ Someone rang the doorbell. Will you open it?
💡 It sounds like a bell going kling-kling 🔔 Es hat geklingelt! = Someone's at the door!
Bonus The doorbell is die Klingel
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Most German blocks of flats have a Hausordnung, and it often sets out the quiet hours (Ruhezeit). Keeping it down from 10 pm to 6 am is the usual rule, and some buildings also ask for quiet at lunchtime. It varies by building and town.
On Sundays and public holidays people generally avoid noisy jobs like drilling, mowing the lawn or throwing bottles into the glass bin. If you're planning a party, it's common to put a note up in the stairwell first.
There's a friendly side too: if you're out, the delivery driver will very often leave your parcel with a neighbour. See a card saying ‘beim Nachbarn abgegeben’? Ring next door! 📦
✅ Quick quiz
Q. It's 11 pm and the music upstairs is far too loud. You knock. What do you say?
- ① Es hat geklingelt.
- ② Unser Hausmeister ist nett.
- ③ Könnten Sie bitte etwas leiser sein?
Show the answer
③ Könnten Sie bitte etwas leiser sein?
leiser means quieter, so this is a polite request to turn it down.
Practise ‘Könnten Sie bitte etwas leiser sein?’ in your most polite voice today. With luck you'll never need it! 🤫
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: ♻️ Trash & recycling